Facebook Gets License To Launch Messenger Payments In Europe

Facebook has secured an e-money license from the Central Bank of Ireland, which could see the social giant rolling out Facebook Messenger Pay across Europe.

Granted on 24th of October, the licence – spotted by TechCrunch – will allow Facebook to facilitate money remittance, credit card payments and other payment transactions.

And because the licence was granted by a member of the EU, Facebook will be able to introduce e-payments across all 27 EU member countries.

Facebook said: “Facebook Payments International Ltd. (FBPIL) is pleased to confirm we have been approved authorisation as an electronic money institution by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI).

“The license enables us to roll out products like charitable donations on Facebook or peer-to-peer payments via Messenger in Europe, as we have in the U.S.

“The license authorises FBPIL to issue donations from Facebook users to charities registered in the European Economic Area (EEA) only; and peer-to-peer payments, within the EEA.”

Facebook Messenger Pay, which has already been rolled out in the US, lets users easily send and receive money through the Facebook Messenger platform.

The feature works like this: users tap the “$” icon within a conversation feed and input how much they want to transfer.

They then click “Pay” in the top right hand corner of the screen and add their debit card details to send the money.

To receive funds, users click “Add Card” in the conversation feed, which lets them input their bank details to receive the money.

Last year, we asked whether Facebook Messenger’s payment system could pose a problem with regards to online dating fraud.

Read more about Facebook Messenger Pay here.